Ten Years After Rwanda

a found poem with thanks to Salih Booker & Ann-Louise Colgan The Nation, July 12, 2004

Ten years after Rwanda Genocide unfolding again Promises of “never again” World watches Darfur is genocide

Failure of United States To act in Rwanda Cost 800,000 lives 1 million people in Darfur, Sudan face a similar fate government campaign to destroy a portion of its population

Humanitarian emergency grows No indication United States or the United Nations is prepared to intervene

Khartoum government Block relief program 30,000 people killed a million internally displaced people may still die

Sudan Civil war with only a ten-year pause In Darfur, Sudanese government Destroying African Muslim communities Because some have challenged Khartoum’s authoritarian rule Conflict between north and south Ethnic and racial identities Khartoum rules by force Cannot represent majority of northerners

United States Involved in promoting peace in Sudan As long as the government Is waging genocide in Darfur United States cannot pretend That a meaningful peace deal can be achieved

Permanent members of the UN Security Council The Genocide Convention bound to prevent and punish genocide genocide, a crime in international law “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” 130 countries worldwide hesitate on Darfur economic and diplomatic interests action will depend on the United States

obligation to act reason treaty obligation involvement in Sudan’s peace process US intelligence, track militia Troops in nearby Djibouti Could be mobilized quickly Lead a multinational force to secure the region Until a UN peace keeping force can be assembled

G-8 summit Leaders of world’s riches and most powerful countries Merely urged Sudan to disarm militia In Europe Summit would have focused on little other than intervention

Worst humanitarian crisis in the world Unless immediate military intervention A million could die this year Should have learned from Rwanda To stop genocide Washington must first say the word.

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